The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

That military meeting was one day after Zhou Yu proposed that "the time has come to discuss Yuan Shu", and it was the second snowfall after Zhengdan.

Those who participated in the military conference included Xi Zhicai, Xun Yu, Chen Qun, Guo Jia, Xun Yue, Yuan Sui, Xuan Kang, Chen Yi, Cheng Jia, etc., as well as Zhong Yao, Jia Xu, Huangfu Li, Zhou Yu, etc. It can be said that It included not only Xun Zhen's old ministers, but also the trusted and available scholars who were newly recruited to him. Everyone gathered together to brainstorm ideas.

Although many people participated in the discussion, the atmosphere in the hall was very quiet. No one was arguing, and no one was rushing to speak. Usually one person spoke and the rest listened. After the man said that, if the rest of the people objected, they would put forward their own opinions; if there were any supplements, they would explain the supplementary content. There are fire dragons under the floor, and there are more than ten charcoal basins, which are warm and quiet. , the charcoal in the copper basin, the crackling sound of burning, can be clearly heard.

The place of discussion is not in the lobby. It is in a small hall, which is much smaller than the lobby, but because of its small size, it is much warmer.

There was snow in the night outside the hall, the candles flickered in the hall, and the yellow light reflected outside the hall, reflecting on the veranda in front of the hall, on the steps, and in a courtyard in front of the steps, and the white snowflakes falling in the night sky and the courtyard. A layer of thin snow has already accumulated in the middle, but it may give people the feeling of four or five friends chatting together at night under the snow.

However, the two rows of tiger warriors standing in the courtyard against the snow, wearing armor and holding spears, and the generals Xu Chu, Dian Wei, Yu Jin and other generals standing on both sides of the porch, silently exuded a strict murderous aura, but they also symbolized this The meeting in the evening hall was anything but ordinary.

Xi Zhicai and Xun Yu were at the top of the left and right, closest to Xun Zhen, who was sitting in the main seat.

Xi Zhicai lightly twisted the handle of the gray-white feather fan, clasped the feather fan upside down on his knees, and said: "Ming Gong, the time to discuss Yuan Shu is already ripe, there is no need to wait until the second or third month or after spring, as Gong Jin said last time. , it is better to use troops as soon as possible, but before the official use of troops..." Having said that, he raised his left hand, stretched out three fingers, and then continued, "There are three things that need to be done first."

"Among the three things you said, the first one is to deploy troops and raise food?"

It was Xun Yu who was sitting opposite Xi Zhicai.

Xi Zhicai nodded and said, "That's right... Duke Ming, let's talk about the deployment of troops first. There are currently about 10,000 troops in Xu County and Yingchuan County, and it is enough to use these 10,000 people to guard Yingchuan. , but if it is used to attack Nanyang, even if Liu Jingzhou responds and helps, it will not be enough. In my estimation, in order to win this battle simply and beautifully in this attack on Nanyang, at least 30,000 cavalry will be required, that is, in addition to In addition to the existing garrisoned troops in Xu County and Yingchuan County, another 20,000 troops need to be transferred to participate in this campaign."

At the time of King Xun Zhenqin, he used only 20,000 to 30,000 troops to fight Yuan Shu, and he had Liu Biao's help, and Lu Bu had been alienated, so he probably wouldn't be able to help Yuan Shu, but he still needed three. A crowd of soldiers and horses? That's true.

This is for two reasons.

One reason is because of Guo Si.

Yuan Shu's headquarters had about 30,000 cavalry troops. If Guo Si hadn't voted for him, plus the about 10,000 people that Liu Biao could send, Xun Zhen's 20,000 troops would have been enough to defeat Yuan Shu and conquer Nanyang. Under Yuan Shu's account, Guo Si's troops numbered more than 10,000, so Xun Zhen and Liu Biao's forces needed to be increased.

One reason is what Xi Zhicai said, "to win this battle beautifully."

If you only want to occupy Nanyang, you are not in a hurry to win, and you are prepared to fight slowly, even if there are more than 10,000 enemies of Guo Si’s clan, first of all, Guo Si’s clan is a defeated general of Xun Zhen’s clan, and secondly, Yuan Shu’s clan’s combat effectiveness is quite inferior to Xun’s. Zhensuo, again, the situation is extremely favorable for Xunzhen's side, then Xunzhen still sends 20,000 troops, almost can win this battle, but if you want to be "simple and beautiful", that is, not only must this battle be won. In the "War of Destruction", Yuan Shu and Guo Si were all wiped out in Nanyang. At the same time, the goal of fighting this battle quickly and giving the other princes the greatest deterrence was not enough, but at least 30,000.

Xun Zhen agreed with Xi Zhicai's judgment and said, "Qing Yan is very true, at least 30,000 troops are needed, and another 20,000 soldiers must be dispatched to join the war."

Zhong Yao frowned slightly and said, "Twenty thousand soldiers is not a small number. Once they are mobilized, rumors will leak out, and Yuan Shu will be able to learn about it. Once he learns about it, he will definitely be prepared... Duke Ming, then he will not be able to get up. To the surprise, to cover up the unexpected effect."

Xi Zhicai said, "The 20,000 soldiers don't have to be mobilized from Yanzhou and Xuzhou."

Zhong Yao said, "Do you mean to say that some soldiers and horses can be used to guard the general's department?"

"good."

"According to your estimate, how many troops can General Wei send?"

Xi Zhicai said: "At the time of King Qin, General Wei sent more than 5,000 troops in total, and General Xiawei was still stationed in Pingyu in Henan Yin's Cheng Pu division, and Nanyang bordered Runan again. Returning to Nanyang, how could General Wei be able to send more troops than when King Qin... Seven or eight thousand people can always be sent out. What does Duke Ming think?"

Xun Zhen pondered and said, "Where is Bo Fu..."

Zhong Yao asked, "Does Duke Ming think that General Wei can't send so many troops?"

"The number of soldiers that Bofu's army can fight is only more than ten thousand. There is no need for many troops to be stationed in the northern and eastern parts of Yuzhou. If they are all out, seven or eight thousand of them can of course be dispatched, but with Lu Bu in Jiangxia, now he cannot be let out out."

- Yuzhou borders Yanzhou in the north and Xuzhou in the east. It is true that Sun Ce does not need to station too many troops and horses in these two places. In fact, he does not station many troops and horses in these two places now. At present, it is mainly concentrated in the south of Runan and Pingyu where its state capital is located.

Hearing Xun Zhen's words, one of the people in the hall couldn't help but say, "Duke Ming, Lu Bu has already been successfully alienated, and he won't help Yuan Shu in nine out of ten cases? Do you still need to keep heavy troops on guard against him?"

The person who asked the question was Cheng Jia.

Xun Zhen said: "Nine times out of ten it is not certainty, Junchang, Lv Bu's repeated disciple, although it is useful to alienate him now, it is still necessary to guard against him, this is one of them; It's not good for him to take away too many troops from the southern part of Runan, the second."

This is the importance of "political credibility".

Lv Bu had betrayed his master twice in the past. If you count his intention to betray Yuan Shu this time, it would be three times of betrayal of his master. Even under the background of obvious achievements in alienation, Xun Zhen could not rest assured of him.

After recruiting Jiangxia water pirates, forcibly recruiting strong men from the four northern counties of Jiangxia, and adding troops to Yuan Shu several times, apart from the more than 1,000 people that Zhang Liao took away, there are now about 5,000 or 6,000 Lu Bu troops. Lu Bu and his generals were all valiant generals. His troops were not many in number, but their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. In case Xun Zhen attacked Yuan Shu with all his strength, or because Yuan Shu had promised Lv Bu, or even because Yang Biao and others had privately contacted Lu Bu, Lv Bu would "repeated" again - the latter's words cannot be said to be true. Repeatedly, after all, Yang Biao and others can also represent the court, but for Xun Zhen, it is obviously an enemy. He went out of Jiangxia County, attacked Runan, and threatened the court, but what should I do? Xun Zhen may have to retreat when the time comes.

Therefore, Sun Ce's troops stationed in Runan cannot be transferred too much from this aspect.

The other is that Sun Ce never forgets the revenge of killing his father day and night. If Sun Ce is asked to transfer too many soldiers and horses from southern Runan, Sun Ce will not be able to live with him emotionally, even though he knows that Xun Zhen is trying to alienate Lu Bu, But with his father's hatred, how could Sun Ce open the door of Runan to Lu Bu? If he was asked to transfer most of the troops stationed in southern Runan, he would resist, and Wu Jing and others would not be willing. Of course, if Xun Zhen ordered, Sun Ce and the others would obey, but this would inevitably lead to a gap between the two sides, so why bother.

Cheng Jia said: "Ming Gong is very worried! It is Jia Si who has not thought about it. If so, I dare to ask Ming Gong, how many troops can General Wei send?"

"There are about 5,000 or 6,000 troops in Lu Bu's army, and Bo Fu's troops in the southern part of Runan are comparable. At most, he can send 5,000 troops." Xun Zhen asked Xi Zhicai, and said, "What do you think?"

Xi Zhicai smiled and said, "Ming Gong's concerns are more loyal and comprehensive." He agreed with Xun Zhen's opinion.

Xuankang was the Sima of the shogunate, and directly controlled the number of soldiers under Xun Zhen's tent, where they were stationed, etc. He said: "If General Wei sends five thousand troops, then our army will need to send fifteen thousand paces. Ride. Duke Ming, the 15,000-foot cavalry, I don't know where the Duke's plan came from? Yanzhou?"

After King Qin succeeded, considering that Nanyang and Jizhou would be the focus of the next troops, Xun Zhen dispatched most of them to Yanzhou and Shanyang County when the main force of King Qin was returned to Xu and Yan. , one stationed in Chenliu County.

"It's not enough to transfer troops from Yanzhou. I intend to transfer 10,000 troops from Yanzhou and 5,000 troops from Xu."

Xuankang thought while saying: "Chen Liu is next to Yingchuan, Chen Liu's garrison can be adjusted for now, but once the Changyi, Xuzhou, especially Xuzhou garrison is transferred to Xu County, ... Ming Gong, Zhong Gong will be worried. , it is absolutely necessary.”

Of course, this was referring to Zhong Yao's worry that "the wind leaked out and Yuan Shu learned about it, so it wouldn't have the effect of being unexpected or covering up the unexpected".

Xun Zhen did not answer Xuankang immediately, but turned to Chen Qun who was sitting below Xun Yu and said, "Changwen, the troops and horses are not moving, the food and grass will go first, let me ask you, two enough for 30,000 soldiers and horses. How long will it take for you to collect Moon Grain?"

Although the field is already in progress, it has not yet reached the harvest time, so the rations for the soldiers have to be transferred from other places.

In the battle of Nanyang, Xun Zhen estimated that if it went smoothly, it could be won in a month. If there was a delay, it should be able to win in two months. However, the so-called "expect the enemy with breadth", especially food is the courage of an army. UUkanshu www.uukanshu.com When it comes to raising the grain, he decided to prepare it according to the three-month supply, because it was definitely not possible to raise only one or two months' supply.

Since arriving in Xuxian, Xunzhen has transported some grain from Yanzhou and Xuzhou before and after, plus the part of the grain captured from the army of Li Jue and Guo Si during the Qin Dynasty, now Xuxian has enough grain for three times. Ten thousand soldiers and horses can get food for one month, because they can raise food for two more months.

Although Chen Qun has now changed to a new official, he has always been in charge of the logistics and transportation of the Xunzhen shogunate, and now he is also in this position. Since then, the situation in Yanzhou has stabilized, and the people are safe in their business. Last year, the harvests of all counties in Yanzhou were good, and the harvests of Juntun and Mintun were also very good. The Yanzhou prefecture has more than enough storage, and as long as the people are recruited in place, they can be shipped to Xuxian within half a month."

"It can be transported to Xu County in half a month. With the addition of the people's levy, it can be transported to Xu County within a month, right?"

Chen Qun said, "Yes." Asked Xun Zhen, he said, "It's just that Duke Ming, the grain delivery is promised, and the momentum is certainly not small, but there is also a risk of leaks."

"The existing grain storage in Xu County is enough for 30,000 soldiers for one month. You just need to arrange the deployment of grain in Yanzhou and the recruitment of the people as soon as possible, and it can be transported to Xu County within a month."

Chen Qun replied, "No."

Waiting for Xun Zhen to solve the problem of grain supply, Xuankang raised Zhong Yao's concerns again, saying: "Ming Gong, although this matter of grain supply can be transported from Yanzhou after the war, the more than ten thousand soldiers in Changyi and Xuzhou will not be able to do so. How can the horse be quietly transferred to Xu County without causing Yuan Shu to be alert?"